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| Coronavirus: Scottish lockdown easing to begin next week | Coronavirus: Scottish lockdown easing to begin next week |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Lockdown restrictions in Scotland are likely to be relaxed slightly from 28 May, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed. | Lockdown restrictions in Scotland are likely to be relaxed slightly from 28 May, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed. |
| Ms Sturgeon made the announcement as she unveiled a four-phase "route map" aimed at restarting society while suppressing the virus. | Ms Sturgeon made the announcement as she unveiled a four-phase "route map" aimed at restarting society while suppressing the virus. |
| The first phase will include allowing people to meet outside with people from one other household. | The first phase will include allowing people to meet outside with people from one other household. |
| Schools will not reopen until the new school year begins on 11 August. | |
| But the First Minister said children will return to a "blended model" where they will do a mix of school and home learning. | |
| Teachers will return to work in June, with transition support being given, where possible, to children going into Primary 1 or moving from primary to secondary schools. | |
| And an increased number of children will have access to critical childcare - which has been provided for the children of key workers during lockdown. | And an increased number of children will have access to critical childcare - which has been provided for the children of key workers during lockdown. |
| Ms Sturgeon said the first phase of easing will see garden centres and recycling facilities reopen, while some outdoor activities such as golf, fishing, tennis and bowls will be allowed again, as will outdoor work such as agriculture and forestry. | |
| People will also be able to sit or sunbathe in parks and open areas, and will be able to meet people from one other household - although only initially in small numbers and while they are outside. | |
| Different households should remain two metres apart from each other, and visiting inside other people's houses will not be permitted in the first phase. | Different households should remain two metres apart from each other, and visiting inside other people's houses will not be permitted in the first phase. |
| In addition, people will be able to travel - preferably by walking or cycling - for recreation, although they will be asked to remain "where possible" within or close to their own local area. | |
| Take-away and drive-through food outlets will no longer be discouraged from re-opening, so long as they apply safe physical distancing, but "non-essential" indoor shops, cafes, restaurants and pubs must remain closed during the first phase. | |
| There will also be a phased resumption of some aspects of the criminal justice system, as well as face-to-face Children's Hearings, and people at risk will have more contact with social work and other support services. | |
| And NHS services which were cancelled because of the coronavirus crisis will "carefully and gradually" resume. | |
| The situation will be reviewed every three weeks, with further phases of easing being introduced if enough progress is being made on keeping the virus under control. | The situation will be reviewed every three weeks, with further phases of easing being introduced if enough progress is being made on keeping the virus under control. |
| Ms Sturgeon said she hoped to be able to move more quickly than that if the evidence allows. | |
| She said the first steps were "proportionate and suitably cautious", and were intended to "bring some improvement to people's wellbeing and quality of life, start to get our economy moving again, and start to steer us safely towards a new normality". | |
| The first minister added: "It's important to stress, though, that while the permitted reasons to be out of your house will increase, the default message during phase one will remain stay at home as much as possible." | |
| Some of the easing measures announced by Ms Sturgeon were introduced in England last week, but the first minister said at the time it would not be safe for Scotland to follow the same timetable. | Some of the easing measures announced by Ms Sturgeon were introduced in England last week, but the first minister said at the time it would not be safe for Scotland to follow the same timetable. |
| This was largely because the so-called R number - essentially the rate at which the virus is spreading - has been higher in Scotland than in some other parts of the UK. | This was largely because the so-called R number - essentially the rate at which the virus is spreading - has been higher in Scotland than in some other parts of the UK. |
| However the number of people who are dying with coronavirus in Scotland has been falling in recent weeks, as has the number of patients needing hospital treatment and intensive care. | However the number of people who are dying with coronavirus in Scotland has been falling in recent weeks, as has the number of patients needing hospital treatment and intensive care. |
| This has given the first minister and her advisers more confidence that any relaxation of the lockdown - which was introduced across the UK on 23 March - will not lead to a resurgence in the virus. |